Android, IOS, Windows: Which Is Best?

Which smartphone system is right for you?

By Heather Kelly, CNN

ANDROID

Android has the most detailed interface of the available operating systems. The Android operating system was released by Google in 2008 and has become the No. 1 smartphone OS in the world. It was running on three out of every four smartphone handsets sold in the third quarter of 2012, according to IDC.

Interface
Android has the most detailed interface of the available operating systems, with many options and a lot of flexibility for setting it up to meet your needs. The home screen has a Google search bar at the top, and a bar at the bottom can hold four app icons or folders. The middle button brings up the complete list of apps installed on the phone. You can place icons for your favorite apps anywhere on one of the multiple home screens, then tap an icon to launch that app. You also can decorate the pages with widgets. Widgets are like interactive mini-apps, and they show live information such as the latest from your Twitter feed, titles in your media library or little photo albums that you can flip through from the home screen. You can add widgets on the lock screen as well. Dragging a finger down from the top of the screen shows notifications. If you're ever lost, you can just hit the back or home button at the bottom of the screen.

Apps and content
On Android phones, apps, games and content such as movies and music are sold in one unified marketplace, the Google Play store. There are about 675,000 apps and games in this store, which is just below the the number in Apple's App Store. The devices often come preloaded with extra, unnecessary apps from the phone maker and wireless carrier, many of which try to get you to sign up for some paid service. The same is true for Windows Phone handsets. A sizable library of movies, music, TV shows books and magazines is also available in the Google Play store.

Key features
Customization and control are big draws for Android users, and the platform is crammed with options. The latest update adds a fun, swipe keyboard feature called Gesture Typing that lets you spell words by dragging your finger around instead of tapping on each letter. Google Now uses your location and timing to show you the most relevant information, such as your upcoming flight times and public transit updates. There is voice search, so you can speak questions and search terms into the phone. And of course, Android has the Google Maps app.

Hardware
Android is available on the largest number of smartphones. There is a device for every price point, and they have different features, manufacturers and carriers.Because Android is open source, different companies can take the OS and modify it to work with their hardware. That means there are several versions of the same operating system. One of the downsides to this fragmentation is that software updates have to be adapted for each version, and the updates can be maddeningly slow to come to Android devices. Currently, the only phone running Android 4.2 is Google's own Nexus 4, by LG.

iOS 6

iOS 6 has been relatively unchanged since the first iPhone came out in 2007. Apple's iOS operating system powers iPhones, iPads and the iPod touch. It's is the second top-selling smartphone operating system; 14% of all smartphones sold worldwide in the last quarter were running iOS. The gap between Android and iOS is huge, but keep in mind that Apple's platform only runs on one smartphone line, the iPhone.

Interface
This is the most straightforward interface in the bunch, and it's been relatively unchanged since the first iPhone came out in 2007. There have been nice minor tweaks, such as the addition of folders and notifications, but the gist is the same. The home screen displays icons for each app; they aren't stashed away in any second location. You can organize apps in folders or search for them using the Spotlight search feature.The iPhone doesn't display live-updating content on the home screens like Android and Windows Phone devices do. It does have a notification center and notification badges that can appear on icons. The lock screen isn't very customizable beyond the background photo. A fixed dock along the bottom of the screen can display the four apps you use the most.

Apps and content
Apps must be purchased in the official Apple App Store, which currently has more than 700,000 apps and games in stock. The importance of a platform with a large volume of apps is overblown. What matters is the availability of quality apps and the willingness of major developers and companies to produce good products for that platform. Content including music, movies, TV shows, podcasts, books and audiobooks are purchased through the well-stocked iTunes Store, though you can also buy them through another company such as Amazon and synch them to your iPhone. Books are also available directly through the iBooks app. Apple has the tightest control over its operating system and the heaviest hand when it comes to editing exactly what features reach the final product. That means no extra preinstalled apps, just the necessities.

Key features
The iPhone is iOS's killer feature. It is a stunning piece of industrial design, and the newest version is durable and lightweight. The voice-assistant feature, Siri; ease of use; and high-quality, third-party apps are other big selling points. If you're near an Apple store, the free tech support is a great perk.

Hardware
Apple's iOS operating system only runs on Apple's iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. The latest version, iOS 6, runs on the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5, though some features such as the camera's panorama mode and Siri are only available on the iPhone 4S and later.The cheapest phone currently sold by Apple is the iPhone 4, which costs $450 unlocked but is free with a two-year wireless contract when you buy it through AT&T, Sprint or Verizon.

WINDOWS PHONE 8

Windows Phone 8 is fresh and fun, but relies heavily on big text.This is the second generation of Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system, which began in 2010. Windows Phone 8 was launched in October, and Microsoft hopes the expensive marketing campaign and improved features will help it climb up from fifth place. Last quarter, only 2% of phones sold in the world were Windows Phone devices.

Interface
Instead of icons, the Windows Phone 8 home screen is covered with a quilt of brightly colored squares and rectangles. Each tile can display live information, such as a photo album or your newest e-mail, which can save you a trip into the sometimes jumbled innards of the operating system.A swipe to the left brings up an alphabetical list of installed apps. Tap and hold on an app to place it, or "pin" it, on the start screen. Tap a tile and hold to change its size or placement.There are some odd design choices, such as allowing text to be cut off randomly to make the most of the smartphone screen. Overall, the design relies on flat, simple images and a lot of large text. By default, the text is mostly white on black, which is jarring but saves battery life. You can switch it to black on white and change the color of your tiles.It's possible to display personalized information on the lock screen, such as your most recent calendar event, e-mail, text message or missed phone call.

Apps and content
The current app selection on Windows Phone 8 is the smallest of the three platforms, but Microsoft is working hard to woo developers. The system shares its underlying framework with Windows 8, so that may make it easier for developers to make apps for both platforms.
Like Android phones, there is usually some preinstalled clutter -- apps from carriers and manufacturers -- on Windows Phones, but these can be deleted easily.Tunes are available in the Xbox music store, but you have to sync movies and TV shows over from a desktop application. Pandora radio comes preinstalled along with a free year of ad-free service. Nokia phones have the Nokia Music service installed.

Key features
The main screen is the winning ingredient for Windows Phone 8. It's simple, fun and easy to understand, and it does a great job of surfacing important information.Kids Corner is nice touch for parents. It creates a separate profile for kids, limiting them to approved apps and keeping them out of your personal accounts. Data Sense is a new feature Microsoft claims will help optimize the amount of data you use.As part of its latest marketing push, Microsoft has been talking up the "people" angle of the phone for consumers (for example, the Rooms feature is a nice way to communicate with custom groups of people, such as family members). However, the company might be better off promoting Windows Phone's business side. Working with Office documents and syncing them across devices is much easier, and there are built-in features for large companies that need to support phones for employees.

Hardware
The new version of Windows Phone adds support for more advanced hardware than its predecessor, including phones with higher resolution screens, multicore processors and near field communication. So far, there are only a handful of Windows 8 phones available, from HTC, Samsung and Nokia. The most anticipated of the bunch is the Nokia 920, which features a powerful camera.Unfortunately, people who already own a device running Windows Phone 7 will not be able to upgrade to the new operating system. To upgrade the OS, they must purchase a new phone.

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO - Apple Inc was handed a mixed ruling by a U.S. appeals court in the latest twist in a blockbuster intellectual property battle with Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, as a prior patent infringement verdict was upheld but a trademark finding that the iPhone's appearance could be protected was thrown out.

That means up to 40 percent of a $930 million verdict which had been won by Apple must be reconsidered.

In the highly anticipated ruling stemming from the global smartphone wars, the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. upheld patent infringement violations including one which protects the shape and color of its iPhone as well as the damages awarded for those violations.

"This is a victory for design and those who respect it," Apple said in a statement on Monday. A Samsung representative declined immediately comment.

The long-running dispute with Samsung dates back to when former Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs was still alive and was seen as emblematic of his tendency to fiercely defend the company's proprietary designs and technology from copies.

Although the opinion was mixed, it tilts strongly in Apple's favor, upholding the bulk of its damages award and reinforcing the principles of design that the company sued to advance, said Brian Love, an assistant professor of law at the University of Santa Clara.

"They made this argument from the beginning of the case that they were sort of the true innovators in the smartphone world, and that although a lot of this technology existed in the past, they came up with very simple, elegant and easy-to-use design that took the smartphone to the next level," he said. "To the extent that it was protected, it was protected by these design patents."

The 2012 trial between the two smartphone titans was widely watched, and the jury found Samsung violated several Apple patents including those related to iPhone's design and appearance.

Apple was eventually awarded $930 million in damages, but failed to win a ban on the sale of the infringing Samsung phones, which are now no longer on the market. The appeals court further muddied the waters for Apple by ordering the court in San Jose to reconsider the $382 million portion awarded for trade dress dilution.

Since the 2012 trial, Samsung and Apple have mostly dropped their legal battles, except for another case pending in the same appeals court involving a $120 million verdict in 2014 for Apple on separate smartphone patents.

Samsung said in its appeal that the damages award was excessive and unprecedented. The company argued it should not be forced to pay such a high price for making a "rectangular, round-cornered, flat-screened, touch-screened phone," calling those features "basic."

Apple countered that Samsung was trying to downplay its "shameless copying" of the iPhone design to increase its market share.

Apple's shares rose as much as 1.8 percent to $130.72 by midday on Monday after billionaire investor Carl Icahn said in a letter to CEO Tim Cook the company was "still dramatically undervalued" and that it should be trading at $240.

The stock has gained more than a quarter since October, when Icahn first said it was undervalued.

The case is Apple Inc v Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 14-1335.

By Se Young Lee and Miyoung Kim, Reuters
Posted at 05/20/2015 10:40 AM | Updated as of 05/20/2015 10:45 AM

A man talks on a phone in front of a giant advertisement promoting Samsung Electronics' new smartphone Galaxy S6 in central Seoul, South Korea. Photo by Kim Hong-Ji, Reuters
SEOUL/SINGAPORE - Samsung's heir-apparent Jay Y. Lee faces a delicate balancing act: carefully pacing preparations for change - of style more than strategy - at South Korea's biggest conglomerate, while preserving his ailing father's legacy from more than a quarter of a century in charge.

Samsung Group a sprawling corporation of dozens of affiliates including Samsung Electronics, has not announced any formal succession planning, but last week said Lee, 46, will take over as chairman of two Samsung foundations from patriarch Lee Kun-hee, 73, who remains hospitalized after a heart attack a year ago.

A flurry of non-core asset sales, company listings and organisational moves suggests the younger Lee, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, is quietly readying Samsung for his brand of steely pragmatism in contrast to his father's more charismatic leadership.

"He doesn't want to be in the limelight just yet, with the chairman still alive. But he's been very clear that he wants to be evaluated through performance and ensure Samsung keeps growing," said a senior Samsung executive, who didn't want to be named as he's not authorized to talk to the media.

"That's why he's been focusing on businesses he thinks Samsung can run successfully, and selling assets such as defense and chemicals. It was quite a decisive move."

While the timing of a leadership transfer is not yet set, and will effectively be Lee's decision to make, few expect any major shift in strategy, though his management style may change the way things are done at the group.

"I think vice chairman Lee has it in his mind, but he doesn't want to rush and do something that might undermine his father's achievements or may be seen as disrespectful. He's weighing a right moment," said the executive.

As some investors question Samsung's long-term growth prospects, with smartphone profits and margins tumbling from 2013 highs and new businesses not yet proving to be future growth drivers, Lee is taking a multi-pronged approach to keeping the smartphone business growing.

"With the high-end smartphone market near saturation, the vice chairman's focus is on how to keep making healthy profits and extend its life cycle. He's thinking synergies with the component business and also convergence with wearables, the 'Internet of things' and virtual reality," the Samsung executive said.

CLIENT COMES FIRST

He may be portrayed as less authoritative than his father, Samsung's second-generation leader credited with forging Samsung Electronics into a world smartphone, TV and chip leader, but Lee has not shied from laying down the law.

"There's now a group-wide instruction for employees to never answer their phones, and to not even look at them, during client meetings," said a second Samsung individual familiar with the issue. "The person behind that is vice chairman (Lee) ... he is emphasizing that the client is more important. That's the kind of thought process he has."

Lee is likely to be a more down-to-earth version of his father, insiders say, and won't demand the kind of attention Lee senior did - such as having a handful of senior executives come to meet him at the airport on his return from overseas trips.

"Vice chairman Lee specifically said such practices should end. He seems to believe they are unnecessary," said the second individual.

The younger Lee has rejected Korean media's portrayal of him as a man of detail, in contrast to his father's more visionary style. "He hates such comparisons. Chairman Lee also paid close attention to detail when he first took charge, and his focus later switched to long-term strategy after he made the changes he wanted to introduce," said the Samsung executive.

"The vice chairman thinks this is disrespectful. He just wants to be a successful businessman like his father and is trying hard to learn from him."

One departure from previous practice has seen Lee put more Samsung companies under greater public scrutiny through stock market listings - partly to make the group nimbler, and partly to build up cash for a likely $6 billion inheritance tax bill on Lee senior's assets.

"Vice chairman Lee has a certain stake level he has in mind for when he becomes chairman. It's around 49 percent," said a third person, familiar with Lee's thinking.

"He knows he can't exercise the same level of control as his father or grandfather. But the reason why it's below 50 percent is that he wants to win over other people such as managers, clients and shareholders, rather than doing things his own way."

As Lee waits in the wings, Choi Gee-sung, a lieutenant of Lee senior and one of Samsung's 'old guard', is among those minding the store.

"The overall atmosphere (at Samsung) has always been uptight with many executives coming in to work by six in the morning. I don't see that changing any time soon," said the second Samsung insider.